Arrr, the pirates are planning to invade Guelph as their latest target for fun and frivolity.

Shiver me timbers, the pirates have sailed back to Marden Park and renamed it Dry Bluffs for the Civic Holiday weekend, Aug. 5 to 7 daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

There’s something for everyone at the 11th annual Pirate Festival, from powder monkeys in training to old salty dogs and from gentlefolk to the scurviest bilge rats.

The area will be populated with a cast of colourful characters — a mixture of pirates and villagers that is sure to entertain.

Landlubbers needn’t worry and can head out with the kids to have their picture taken with the motley crew and hop aboard an inflatable bouncy pirate ship.

Antonio DeCoppi of Keelhaul Productions says come be a pirate for a day and “get caught up in the adventures of our colourful cast as they work around the scheming minds of those that would imprison them.”

This year “it would appear” that the British have arrived and have brought with them the King’s pardon, he said.

The fest gets down and dirty at the featured Mudd show, described as live theatre performed in a pit of mud.

There’s an encampment, called “a multicultural nomadic group of animated singers, dancers, musicians and story-tellers.”

Children can enjoy the pirate ship, stories, crafts and a variety of shows while entertainers include Zoltan the Adequate with music by Pirates McKenna, the Eclectic Revival and more.

Throughout the weekend, there’s food, featuring turkey legs, drinks such as grog, a pub and marketplace.

As well, join Captain Tor and his crew of ne’er do wells at pirate encampments to display their fighting prowess.

There’s also a Pirate School that promises to teach all about the “wild and woolly” life and times of these ocean raiders.

Daring-do

The grounds of the festival are filled with activities such as sword-fighting demonstrations, a blacksmith and a variety of vendors selling their wares.

There’s a “lively children’s area,” and the fest can be enjoyed with the sounds of live bands playing Celtic and East Coast-influenced music throughout the day from the pub and dining area.

Shows include the “bizarre and dangerous stunts of daring-do and sheer stupidity, with a little mind-bending mentalism mixed in.”

They are speaking about Zoltan the Adequate who plays with fire to risk life and limb as the salty old trickster amazes with his spectacles.

Capt’n Tor and the Naer Do Well Cads Pirate Invasion is called “Canada’s only English rollickin,’ musical-theatrical all-pirate crew of musicians, players and troubadour.”

These rascals and rogues play their original pirate Celtic music, sprinkled with revamped sea shanties, in pirate character and attire.

Invoketress will grace the Captain’s Keg with belly-dance-inspired entertainment while later in the evening, the “sultry ladies” of Sweet Struts take over with a pirate burlesque.

The Pirates McKenna are seasoned brother scoundrels Ryan and Joel who have always sung for their supper with tunes born in the peat and mist of their ancestral home.

Smash and Bash get into some trouble with the Captain in a show that combines the comedic timing of sketch comedy with the action of a stunt fight show that’s great for laughs and for all ages.

The pirates have been on the move, having first weighed anchor at Fort York in Toronto and then changing course towards Milton’s Country Heritage Park and now Guelph for the second time.

If you go

What: The Pirate Festival

When: Aug. 5 to 7, daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: Marden Park, 7368 Wellington Rd. 30, Guelph.

Admission: $15, adults; $10 seniors, 55 plus, and for children six to 12; while ages five and younger are free.

Captain’s Keg: A “much-more rowdy event” for an older audience, 19 plus, with a $10 cover.